MINUTES  OF  THE 
stopped  and  the  drugs  thrown  aside  it  is  argued  that  the  result  arrived  at 
in  the  Pharmacopoeia  is  obtained  with  much  less  cost ;  a  little  of  the  drug 
being  sacrificed  to  save  a  large  portion  of  costly  alcohol. — Editor  Am. 
Jour.  Pharm.] 
Frof.  Parrish. — I  am  sure  the  members  will  feel  greatly  indebted  to 
Dr.  Squibb  for  this  valuable  paper.  It  is  interesting  in  a  commercial  and 
economical  point  of  view,  and  will  save  a  considerable  amount  in  the 
preparation  of  fluid  extracts  in  future. 
Prof.  Procter. — This  paper  is  starting  investigation  in  a  new  direction. 
It  not  only  determines  which  portions  of  the  percolate  are  the  most  valuable 
in  practice,  but  it  gives  the  relation  of  one  part  to  the  other,  and  determines 
by  actual  therapeutic  experiments  the  real  value  of  the  result.  The  paper 
is  one  which  we  should  be  glad  to  receive  because  it  opens  a  new  kind  of 
investigation.  I  hope  that  other  gentlemen  will  pursue  it  with  other  prepa- 
rations, and  furnish  us  with  facts  arrived  at  in  the  same  careful  spirit. 
Dr.  Squibb  here  explained  the  tables  connected  with  his  paper,  and 
stated  that  when  the  percolate  contained  only  eight  grains  of  extract  in  the 
fluid  ounce,  this  extract  was  inert.  He  wished  to  say  a  word  about  the 
inference  drawn  by  Mr.  Parrish  as  to  the  saving  of  alcohol.  The  object 
of  the  paper  is  to  show  that  the  formulas  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  might  pos- 
sibly be  advantageously  altered  by  those  empowered  to  alter  them,  not 
that  I  am  going  to  alter  them  in  my  own  practice,  or  that  I  want  any 
body  else  to  do  so.  I  wish  every  one  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  Pharmaco- 
poeia, and  do  not  want  any  one  to  say  "if  the  Pharmacopoeia  Committee 
do  not  choose  to  get  together  and  alter  it,  we  will  alter  it  ourselves  ;  it  has 
been  shown  to  be  practicable."  My  object  has  been  to  offer  an  argument 
to  the  Committee  of  Revision  to  revise  the  formulas  or  to  give  us  some 
better  ones  for  saving  alcohol.  It  is  the  cost  of  alcohol,  in  a  commercial 
point  of  view,  which  has  caused  the  use  of  fluid  extracts  to  fall  off  as  it  has 
on  account  of  the  corresponding  rise  in  their  price.  If  by  a  change  in 
the  Pharmacopoeia  we  can  save  this,  very  good  ;  but,  until  that  change  is 
made,  we  should  submit  to  the  loss. 
Prof.  Parrish  did  not  yield  to  any  one  in  respect  for  the  National  Phar- 
macopoeia, but  thought  Dr.  Squibb  too  strict.  He  argued  that  in  making 
a  quantity  of  fluid  extract  he  was  justified  in  stopping  the  percolation  when 
the  drug  was  exhausted,  if  he  had  not  consumed  all  the  specified  quantity 
of  alcohol.  The  Pharmacopoeia  does  not  tell  exactly  what  shape  of  per- 
colater  to  use,  for  there  are  differences  in  the  angles  of  funnels.  Every 
body  must  use  his  judgment,  and  interpret  the  Pharmacopoeia  according 
to  common  sense. 
Mr.  Taylor. — Mr.  Parrish  might  be  competent  to  judge,  but  it  would  be 
unsafe  to  entrust  it  to  every  body. 
Dr.  Sjquibb. — The  matter  comes  to  this.  The  Pharmacopoeia  says  that 
four  pints  of  liquor  will  exhaust  a  certain  amount  of  a  drug  ;  but  you  in- 
sist that  less  will  do  it,  and  each  adopts  this  "  higher  law  "  proceeding.  It 
